Tag / Shofuso Japanese House and Garden

by clumpaday

Simply Present

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Clump #188:  Sort through three bags.  Day thirteen of my 30-day, 30-post Bedroom Blast Challenge: clear out son’s room before he returns home with more stuff.

Today I had a good Skype-chat with our son and we confronted three piles from his room, including the dreaded “Miscellaneous.”  We’ll keep the pile on the right.  The other two are heading out, one way or another.

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In documenting my visit yesterday to the tea ceremony at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, I failed to mention the most important aspect: the tea ceremony was a physical demonstration of the concept of being in the present moment, of being mindful.

Each movement was so very deliberate.  Each item in the ceremony had its purpose and was handled with care and attentiveness.  The simplicity of the surroundings made the awareness of each item more distinct.

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My friends and I were enamored with the Ikebana style flower arrangements adorning the house.  I looked up Ikebana International when I got home and a definition on the official website read, “In principle, Ikebana aims not at bringing a finite piece of nature into the house, but rather at suggesting the whole of nature, by creating a link between the indoors and the outdoors.”

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I know I will never achieve the austere beauty of the Shofuso House, after all, it’s not a real house where people live.  But paring down our possessions will limit the visual field and allow us to more fully appreciate and honor the things we do want to keep …

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And possibly link us a bit more to the outdoors.

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by clumpaday

Tranquili-Tea

Clump #187:  Clear out wire basket of assorted junk that had migrated into son’s bedroom.

There I go, anthropomorphizing the clutter again.  Ahem.  I shoved this stuff together when clearing out our kitchen desk.  And it was before Christmas this year, when I was frantically readying for a party.  No need for carbon dating.

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Oh, my poor heart strings!  Today is our son’s birthday, and when I turned over the picture frame on top I was overwhelmed.  It was a photo compilation my younger sister had made for another birthday years ago. Here’s a portion of it, a little blurry, like my eyes right now:

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My memory of driving our son home from the hospital is of all the trees in bloom.  It was as if the whole world was celebrating.  Today was a gem of a day, and I was fortunate enough to go with some friends to a Japanese tea ceremony at the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

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We learned about the four elements to strive toward in the tea ceremony: purity, harmony, respect, and tranquility.  They were all present.

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We were served a sweet wrapped in a young cherry tree leaf that had been fermenting for a year …

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and a lovely bowl of bright green macha tea.

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The beauty of the setting was exquisite.

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Even without many leaves.

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One tree was perfectly pink against a perfect blue sky.

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We were all struck by the elegant simplicity of the place and of the ceremony.  No extraneous movements or things.  I include this photo of a musical instrument in honor of our musician son:

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Everything had a place and a purpose.  I will try my best to remember.